Who are we anyway?
by Sleepingcatprincess
Summary: This is a Snarry slash.
1. Late night thoughts

Hiiiiiii, you guys!

This is my first fanfic EVER, so go easy on me :))) Harry is about seventeen here, but I'm not following a specific timeline or a part of the books. I have no idea where this is going, let's just allow the story to unfold on its own. All I know is that I want this story to make us all shiver and grin like idiots *.* :D Also, English is definitely not my first language, so feel free to correct me in the reviews if you see me screw up ;) Other than that, Snarry is one of the best things that has ever happened since the beginning of time, so I hope you enjoy :P

Yes yes, I **do not own** Harry Potter. I'm not THAT blessed, my folks.

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Chapter 1

Harry was surrounded by people. His problem wasn't loneliness anymore. The summer was over, the sleepless nights that highlighted this lack of connection he felt, were over too. He was never truly alone in Hogwarts. His friends, professors, books, notes, sounds constantly surrounded him. Then why did he feel this way? The boy shifted his focus back to his hand which had started to make the notes unreadable by scribbling unconsciously. "Dammit" sighed the boy. He put the pen, the notebook, and his textbooks on the wooden table next to him. He found it hard to concentrate on his homework, or anything at all for that matter, these days. The common room was usually already empty at this hour. Hurry was a night owl, to say the least. He enjoyed the serenity and quiet of the night. There was a slightly mysterious and calming feeling you get after the world drifts away to sleep and time stops. Harry loved it. And hated it at the same time. It WOULD be beautiful. It could be the happiest time of the day. If this feeling could just stop following him around! The young boy got up from the couch, put on the cloak, the precious invisibility cloak that had served him so many times, and slipped through the portrait. The moonlight filled hallways always calmed his mind. He tried to be more rational. Rather than trying to change the way he felt, he liked to question it. To ask why. It always helped him find some sort of satisfaction, a feeling of closure. At least some closure.

It's not like this feeling of loneliness, or emptiness, or whatever it was, was something new to him. He always felt it- to some extent. But this year it was stronger. Maybe it intensified because of those summer nights he spent alone? Maybe all of those times he envied his friends for having a place to call home? Maybe it just keeps on building up over the years? Harry almost smiled. He was actually very grateful for so many things in his life. Of course, he had Sirius now. Now Harry knew that he had a home to come back to and some family that actually FELT like his. Yeah, things with Sirius were still pretty complicated considering they couldn't really meet until he was free of charges. But they were in contact. That's the thing Harry couldn't understand. His life seemed fine now. Great even. Then why did he feel this way? Maybe it's just the night that would bring him back this longing, like a memory, a glimpse from the past?

He stopped wandering the hallways at this point and sat down on the bottom of a staircase in front of him. From where the boy sat, you could see the wide corridor and some stone arks leading to the Slytherin side of the castle, the dormitory and some of the classrooms as well. He realized he wasn't as frustrated anymore. He always felt better after his nightly walks. Maybe he just needed to clear his head, that's all.

Suddenly, he heard the door open at the back of the hallway that he sat in front of. Harry made sure that no part of his body was out of the invisibility cloak and waited curiously for the figure to come into view. It was Snape. Harry grinned and thought "Looks like The Poison teacher is back after all". Harry did find it kind of odd that he missed the first month of the school year, though everyone already knew that Professor Snape was out to do some business with the Ministry of Magic. No one really knew what was going on in the magic world, but students felt tension nonetheless. They saw the tension in adult's faces. Something was up. The boy didn't want to get caught, considering the first class tomorrow WILL be Poisons with Slytherin, so he quickly stood up and made his way back to the dormitory.


	2. Familiarity

Chapter 2

The next day, as Harry, Ron, and Neville were eating breakfast in the big hall and discussing the Quidditch match taking place on Saturday, Hermione rushed to them, dropped her bags and sat down with an annoyed look on her face. The boys exchanged glances and Ron grinned.

"Someone didn't sleep well"

Hermione looked at him with disapproval.

"The Poison lessons will be continued without covering the material that we missed at all"-hissed he raising one eyebrow-"This is ridiculous!"

The boys laughed. Ron looked VERY much pleased and said:

"Well, normal people consider it fortunate, Hermione."

The girl made a face at him and started eating.

"How come you guys are not surprised that Snape is back?"

Harry said:

"I've seen him last night."

"You've been wandering around school after curfew again?"-Hermione shook her head disapprovingly-" Harry, you have to be more careful, you can't just do it every night."

"Not every night"-Harry shrugged.

The group kept on chatting while they gathered their stuff and went to class. They didn't want to be late, they knew better than getting on Snape's nerves on the first class, but it turned out Professor was late himself. He burst into the classroom and started his lesson as if he has been there since the beginning of the year, not feeling like he needed to explain his absence to the students. Harry thought that he saw how Professor's face looked a bit paler than usual. He looked more tired too. As the boy studied Snape's features trying to figure out what's going on, Professor raised his head from the book and met his gaze. His black eyes looked questionably into emerald ones, one eyebrow rose, and a familiar sneer appeared. Harry looked down at his book, the corner of his lips twitching. The man's expression calmed him a little- "it can't be that bad if he's still mocking me, maybe the world is not coming to an end after all", the boy almost giggled. Of course, he knew Snape hated him, he himself liked teasing the greasy git immensely, but his presence had become so familiar over the years that it couldn't help but have a calming effect.

At the end of the class, as Harry was shoving his books in his bag, Snape said:

"Potter, stay behind."

The boy looked surprised but told Ron and Hermione to go on and not wait for him. When the classroom was finally clear of students, Severus Snape coldly announced:

"Mr. Potter, the Headmaster decided that it is of the necessity that you continue your Occlumency lessons as soon as possible. We both know that it will be a burden for both of us, not to mention the obvious fact that the Dark Lord is stronger than ever, so I suggest that this time you put in more effort into this, so you can master it as soon as possible and both of us are free to live our lives in peace."-Snape finished his speech, almost hissing at the end, emphasizing the word 'peace'.

The boy was more than surprised, remembering how angry Snape was last year about his memories being seen. The boy flinched remembering what he saw, remembering his own father…behaving in a way Harry didn't consider right. And now Snape's willing to get back to it?

"But why? Sir…I know you don't exactly love the idea of your memories being visible to me. I don't want you going through my head either. Can't Mr. Dombledore do it? Wouldn't it be easier?" The boy replied, his voice calm.

"Don't be stupid, Potter. If this was an option, would I even be talking to you? The Headmaster has matters at hand that are of much greater importance than this." Snape replied in an annoyed tone." You will come here every Monday and Friday at 7 pm, starting today, and you will not be late. I don't have the patience for your ignorance, so you will behave, and treat me with respect, or I won't teach you a thing even if Dumbledore threatens to kill me himself, am I clear? Don't forget Mr. Potter that these lessons are of benefit to YOU, I, on the other hand, don't give a damn."

"Yes, Sir." Harry simply stated. "It's clear. I'll be here. "

As Harry left, the boy knew he will have to comply with the rules and contain his temper, even though when it came to Snape it wasn't always easy. He sighed quietly. The visions and constant nightmares were hard to bear. And they were getting worse, they were intensifying. The boy needed help, even if he had to accept it from that prideful git.


End file.
